Stuffing-box.



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iHH-ra @y UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

IRA `Knaus, or' PRAIRIE DEPOT, OHIO.

STU FFlNG-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming' par@ 0f LetterS Patent N0. 673,714-, dated May '7, 1901. Application filed January 1'7, I901 Serial No. 43,664. (No model.)

Y packing surrounding a reciprocatory rod and which are designed more particularly for use on Oil-well tubes with a view of preventing the loss` of oil incident tO the pumping oper` ation.

It consists in a certain peculiar and practical construction the novelty, utility, and advantages of which will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation illustrating my improved stuffing-box in its proper operative position. Fig. 21s a top plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail section illustrating the stniiiug-box case and the packing and gland or follower therein. l

In the said drawings similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views, referring to which- A is an oil-well pipe or tube threaded at its upper end.

B is the case of my improved stuffing-box, which is threaded at its lower end to take into the upper end of the .pipe or tube A and is provided with au exterior flange a to rest on the upper end of the pipe or tube and form a wrench-hold, and also with a bore b, gradually contracted at c to'a diameter slightly greater than that of the pump-rod C.

D is packing arranged in the lower part of the bore of casing B. l

E is the gland or follower, arranged in the bore ot' casing B above the packing D and provided at its upper end with diametrically opposite lugs d, rounded on their upper sides and equipped with guard-flanges e, and F is a bracket which surrounds the case B and is clamped thereon by means of a screwf. The said bracket, which is readily attachable to stu'fng-box cases such as at present in use, is provided with Oppositely-extending long and short arms g h, both ot' which terminate at their outer ends in vertically-disposed eyes, as shown.

Gr is a forked lever which straddles the pump-rod and is provided in the lower edges of the arms of the fork with rounded notches il to receive the lugs d on the gland or follower E. The said lever is provided adjacent to one Of its ends with teeth or serrationsj for the engagement of the hanger 7c of an adjustable weight H, and at its oppositeend it has a transverse bolt Z, which bridges its fork and is designed for the pivotal connection of a depending rod I, the latter being held in its position midway between the arms of the fork by spacing-collars m, as best shown in Fig. 2. The rod I extends downwardlythrough the eye of the bracket-arm h and is provided below the same with a securing-nut n.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that the lever G is connected in a hinged manner to the upper end of the rod I and bears loosely on the upper end of the gland or follower E at4 a point intermediate of the rod I and the weight I-I. [from this it follows that the weight, through the medium ofthe lever G, willexert constant downward pressure on the packing in the case B and will crowd said packing down into the contracted portion of the bore of the case, with the result that the packing is constantly pressed in wardly against the pump-rod and a tight joint eected which precludes leakage of the oil incident to the up-and-down movements of the rod. It also follows that by virtue of the lever being bifurcated and arranged to straddle the pump-rod there is nothing to prevent downward movement of its weighted end within certain limits, and therefore as the packing wears away the weighted lever will move the gland or follower downwardly and the latter will compress the packing into a grad ually-deoreasing space, but always with the .same pressure, around the pump-rod. This operation continues until the packing is worn away and the gland is stopped by its ange at the top, when of course it is necessary to repack the box.

In cold weather when the pump has been idle for a time the packing adheres to the pump-rod and at the first upstroke of said rod the packing, gland, and lever would be bracket, the stop-rod will not interfere in any manner with the free downward movement of the lever G, which operates to compress the packing in the case B and around the rod C, as before described. In the event, however,

that the gland, packing, and lever tend to move upwardly with the pump-rod on the first upstroke of the latter the enlargement p of the stop-rod by engaging the bracketarm g will limit the upward movement of the lever, and thereby effectually prevent raising of the gland or follower E clear of case B.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that by virtue of the construction of my improved stuffing-box it requires no attention or adjustment from the time the packing is placed in the case B until it is entirely worn away-3 but, on the other hand, the gland E and the weighted lever G are calculated to accommodate themselves to the depletion of the packing, with the result that the packing is held under the same pressure around the reciprocating pump-rod until the gland is stopped by its flange bringing up against the upper end of the case B.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In aself-adjusting st11fng-box,thecom bination of a case adapted to receive a reciprocatory rod, packingarranged in said case, a gland or follower also arranged in the case and on the packing, and having rounded lugs on its upper end at opposite sides of its bore, provided with guards, a bracket clamped on the case and having an arm disposed laterally thereto, a rod rising from said bracketarm, and a forked lever having rounded notches in the arms of its fork, and also having said arms arranged on the lugs of the gland at the inner sides of the guards; the said lever being connected at one end in a hinged manner to the rod rising from the bracket-arm, and provided adjacent to its opposite end with an adjustable weightv 2. In a self-adjusting stuffing-box, the combinarion of a case, packing therein, a gland also arranged in the case and on the packing, bracket-arms connected with and extending in opposite directions from the case; one of said bracket-arms having an eye, a rod rising from the other bracket-arm, a lever bearing loosely on the gland and connected at oneend in a hinged mannerto the rod rising from one bracket-arm, and having a weight at or adjacent to its opposite end, and a rod pivotally connected to the weighted arm of hthe lever and extending loosely through the eye in the bracket-arm, and provided below said arm with an enlargement adapted to engage the same, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- HQSSGS.

IRA KARNS. Witnesses: V FRANK GRAHAM,

FRANK H. FIKE. p 

